Wringer



N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1947 INVENTOR. Jib/ 01m z. Ewe/b N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19, 1947 INVENTOR. JVZc/zo Zas L. Ewen c/jggerzi? N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 19, 1947 INVENTOR. c/poZczs ll. F-en BY N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 19, 1947 MW WE V i a d m M Fbb.l9,1952

N.L.ETTEN WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 19, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

Cvfge/zi N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 19, 1947 INVENTOR. jVs'c/wlczs Z. Fit 6n,

o/gyefzli N. L. ETTEN Feb. 19, 1952 WRINGER Filed June 19, 1947 8 sheets-sheet 7 @fyem? Feb. 19, 1952 Filed June 19, 1947 Jig/3.

IN V EN TOR.

- nab/wads z. 2%672 Wm ipe/2i Patented F eb. 19, 1952 2,586,155 WRINGER Nicholas L. Etten, Waterloo, Iowa, assignor to Chamberlain ,Gorporation; Waterloo, Iowa, at

corporation of Iowa Application Juneiil, 1947, Serial No. 755,774

1-3 Claims. (01. 68-253) This invention relates to a newly designed wringer adapted for use in connection with a conventional domestic Washing machine; This wringer is arranged to be mounted and driven from the usual wringer post mechanism and iii-- eludes an automatic power release for interrupting the drive to the rolls whenever the safety release mechanism of the wringer has been operated.

The clothes wringer of the present invention has been simplified in a great many details over wringers now on the market and has been compactly constructed to reduce the overall size thereof to produce a smaller wringing unit.

One of the main objects of the present invention is to provide a wringer release mechanism which has a highly sensitive manual release means of relatively simple construction to quickly render inoperative the pressure mechanism of the' wringer which normally induces cooperative squeezing action between the coacting rolls of the wringer.

It is another object of the present invention to incorporate a newly designed wringer rollrelease latch mechanism which is also highly sensitive for releasing the pressure between the wringer rolls and which reacts quickly under manual push the release bar, pull the release bar, or the operator may push downwardly upon such bar; whereby release of the latch means and of thewringer rolls tensioning mechanism iseffecte'd.

Obviously other combinationsof movements in duced by the operators hand or other body part' upon the manual release bar on the adjacent-side of the wringer may be a downwardly and rear wardly movement or a downwardly and forwardly movement, each affecting the release Ot-thelatch mechanism to cause the wringer rolls to separate instantly. In all instancesoi wringer roll'releas'e, the present mechanism also includes suitable operative means for interrupting the drive to the rolls to further alleviate all possible danger in cases of accident or under other conditionsand for other reasons.

The present wringer construction also ad: vantageously uses a single spring conveniently" disposed in one side of the wringe'r structure which in the present construction is at the post attaching end of the wringer and also incorporates a newly designed means for resetting the Wringer rolls after release of the wringer rolls has been eilected through the operation of the release means.

It is a further feature of the present invention to include means for resetting the tensioning pressure mechanism which places the rolls in operative squeezing position, and to include in such mechanism a reset handle that is normally positioned beneath and adjacent the underside of the wringer and out of the way of the operator under all normal operation conditions of the wringer. This operating handle and its connected reset mechanism has been designed so that a sweep of approximately 200 degrees by the handlewill fully reset the wringer pressure mechanism to again establish the spring controlled tension between the wringer rolls.

It is a further object of the present wringer to incorporate a reset mechanism of the type mentioned immediately above wherein the handle of the mechanism remains entirely inert during the release action of the wringer roll mechanism to further prevent injury to an operator such as might be caused by fast moving parts during the release of the Wringer. The manipulation of the handle is only required for the purpose of resetting the entire wringer structure after release of the wringer rolls.v By rotating the handle from its normal inoperative relation approximately 200 degrees and then returning the same to the inoperative and shielded position beneath the wringer structure, the tensioning' mechanism is again rendered operative;

Thereset mechanism is designed toalso relatch the latch release mechanism for subsequent release by the operator, such action taking'place simultaneously with the resetting of the roll tensioning mechanism. 7

Numerous other details and refinements in the construction of the present wringer include the use of a lift cam coacting with an arm of the latch means, the arm having a roller thereon functioning to reset the entire tensioning means of the wringer by a relatively small lift of the free end of the arm brought about by the swinging of the hand operated handle adapted for the reset function, and the effort to'carry out thereset function having been reduced to a minimum by the particular arrangement embodied in the wringer structure of the present design.

All other objects and advantages inherent in as seen from the left hand outboard end in Fig.

1, illustrating the parts of the wringer in operative position as they would appear while the wringer is being used;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the wringer as it appears from the right hand end of Fig. 1 with the wringer bodily removed from its supporting connections with: the wringer post of a washing machine;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view partially broken away and in section of the left hand end portion of the wringer structure illustrated in Fig. 1 and more specifically showing the plan vie w of the details in the Fig. 2 illustration of the wringer;

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing in plan the bracket structure which pivotally supports the latch release mechanism of the wringer;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the bracket in Fig. 5 as the same appears independently of all of the normally attached parts connected therewith such as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is another fragmentary plan view partially in section of the left hand end portion of the wringer structure illustrating in detail how the release mechanism operates when one of the release bars is moved toward the wringer rolls;

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view similar to the Fig. 2 illustration but here showing the relative positions of the various parts under release conditions analogous to the position of the parts as illustrated in Fig. 7 which establishes separation of the wringer rolls;

Fig. 9 is a similar end elevational view of the wringer illustrating the relationship of the various parts of the reset mechanism when positioned to function to re-establish the pressure between the rolls and to simultaneously relatch the latch mechanism that precipitates the release condition to separate the wringer rolls;

Fig. 10 is a detail plan view of part of the reset mechanism to better illustrate certain details of the wringer reset mechanism, and as viewed along the line Ill-10 in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line ll-|l in Fig. 1 of the rockable arm structure which spans the length of the wringer and functions to depress the wringer cage bracketssupporting the movable wringer roll under the action of the spring mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a vertical cross sectional view taken substantially along the line |2I2 in Fig. 11 i1- lustrating certain details of construction of the rockable arm mechanism;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the wringer end frame parts and of the release bar structure of the wringer release mechanism with portions thereof broken away and in section to better show the relationships between the connected parts thereof; and

Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic end elevational view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 13 and substantially as viewed along the line I l-l4 in Fig. 13.

pin 29 while the roll I 2 revolves upon the bear- Referring to Fig. 1, the main supporting framework of the wringer comprises the end frame plates l and 2 rigidly connected through welding or other means by the longitudinally disposed tubes 3, 4, and 5. The end frame plate 2 includes an extension tongue 6 which is rigidly bolted at I to the head 8 of the wringer post structure 9, and a suitable bracket H) is riveted to end frame plate 2 and also conveniently bolted at l I to head 8. Thus the entire wringer framework is rigidly supported from the head 8 with the connected working parts of wringer and head arranged in cooperative relationship with respect to each other and in the manner to be hereinafter described.

It should be understood that Fig. 1 and the balance of the drawings are confined to the structural details and working parts of the wringer, and that these illustrations do not show the housing units which are used to cover the working parts, nor do the drawings include the drain board mechanism usually supplied with a wringer of this type. Obviously, most of these structural elements may be of any conventional kind They have been omitted for the sake of clarity and to better show the working parts and the various cooperative relationships between the mechanisms which together form and comprise the salient features of this newly designed wringer.

Referring further to Fig. 1, it is seen that the upper and lower wringer rolls l2 and 13 are positioned between the end frame plates 1 and 2 through the supporting bearing mechanism generally designated by [4 and I5 respectively, and the latter units are constructed and arranged to support the lower roll [3 for rotation upon a normally fixed axis and to permit the upper roll l2 to move vertically upon a roving axis, such upper roll accommodating itself to the spread thickness of the clothes as well as to the bunching or variation of thicknesses of the clothes which pass between the rolls at various points along the operative lengths thereof. The bearing structures I4 and i5 are generally identical in construction, each including a fixed bearing bracket it which is riveted at I! to the end frame plate I or 2 and which is adapted for supporting a block bearing I8 by means of a cross pin l9 extending between opposite legs of the fixed bearing [6. The block bearing l8 supports the adjacent end of the roll shaft 20 supporting the roll 13, and the other end of the shaft 20 is connected with a drive shaft 2! through a tongue and groove connection 22. The shaft 2| connects through clutch means with the wringer drive mechanism of the wringer post structure 9 which may be of any conventional type or make.

A second bearing bracket 23 cooperates with and is slidably carried by the fixed bracket l6 and brackets 23 supports the extended end 24 of the tubular shaft 25 of the upper roll l2 by means of a cross pin 26 secured to adjacent and laterally disposed side walls of the slidable bearing bracket 23.

It should be noted that the upper roll is provided with an axial supporting sleeve 21 having the central tubular bearing structure 28 that is connected by means of a cross pin 29 which projects through an opening in the shaft 25 so that the upper roll rotates upon the sleeve bearing 28 which permits bodily lengthwise tilting of the entire upper roll [2 upon the axis of the cross ing sleeve 28 .during operation. This action. is substantially similar to the wringer r011 construction disclosed and described in my co-pending application Serial No. 630,178, filed November 23, 1945. i

The bracket 23 for movably supporting the end 24 of the shaft 25 and its corresponding bracket in the bearing structure I5 at the opposite end of the wringer are both designed with proper clearance provisions to avoid the lower roll shaft 20,

and each of these brackets 23 are provided with rollers and 3| which are axially aligned and offset with respect to the vertical center plane of the wringer structure as best shown inFigs. 2 and 3. A rockable arm assembly 32 comprises a pair of arms 33 and 34 rigidly securedto a U-shaped channel 35 that. is adapted to pivotally rock upon the connecting tube 5 of the frame structure in a manner best illustrated in Fig. 11. Channel .35 is maintained in operative bearing contact with the tube 5 by means of suitable lock bolts 36 interposed at intervals along the length of the channel 35 thereby providing a strong reinforced torque transmitting rockable arm assembly which is well adapted for maintaining the upper roll [2 of the wringer mechanism in operative squeezing contact with the lower roll l3 thereof through the instrumentality of the arms 33 and 34 by reason of their engagement with the rollers 30 and 3| of the brackets 23 located in each end of the wringer and connected with the opposite ends of the tubular wringer shaft 25 supporting the upper roll 12.

As best seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 11, the rockable arm assembly 32 includes a third arm 31 suitably pivoted upon an extension of tube 5 through the end frame plate 2 for swingable movement upon an axis coincident with the rotational axis of the rockable arm structure 32. The arm 3"! is keyed to move directly with the rockable arm assembly 32 in a manner best illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, wherein it is seen that arm 34 is provided with a shoulder stud 38, welded thereto and having a threaded end 39 adapted for insertion through a bore 40 in the arm 31 for the reception of a nut 4| to thereby fix arm 31 and arm 34 for simultaneous concerted movement about their supporting coincident pivotal axes.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 11, the outer end of the arm 31 is arranged for direct coaction with roller 42 pivotally supported upon one. arm of the bell crank lever 43 having the other arm thereof connected with a sleeve 44 carried to rock upon pivot pin 45' having its ends mounted in the end frame. plate 2 and in the outer wall portion of the bracket Ill. The bell crank 43 includes a further attached arm 46 fixed to the other end of sleeve 44 by means of welding or the like. The arm 43 supports a swivel block 4! by means of the pivot stud 48, and the block 41 is suitably apertured to slidably receive one end of the spring rod 49. This rod 49 has one end pivotally connected at 56- to the swingable end of a link 5| which is. suitably keyed or otherwise fixed for direct rotation with the rock shaft 52 which is; pivotally supported through suitable bushing means adjacent the end frame plate 2, and shaft 52 extends through the frame tie tube 5 to the outboard side of the wringer structure. A spring 53 of selected length, size, and tension is interposed between the expanded head 54 of the spring rod 49 and the adjacent face of the swivel block 47 for the purpose of exerting pressure against the end of arm 46 of the bell crank structure 43 described. immediately above. with reference to Fig. 3. The.

roll I2 intocooperative squeezing. relation against the; surface of the lower roll 13. Under normal conditions of operation the link 5| is maintained in the position indicated, in Fig. 3 so that the pivot pin 50 is at that time. on a. fixed support. Therefore, whenever the clothes pass between rollers l2 and l3 the. upper roll will rise lifting, the bearing structures 23 causing both of the rockablearms 33 and34 to lift which will directly move arm 3'! in Fig. 3 in a counterclockwise direction, and this. action is directly transmitted to the-spring 53 by means of thebell crank 43 and arm 46 increasing the relative pressure between the rolls as determined by the additional compressionof the spring 53 between the swivel block 4? and the head 54 of the spring rod. 49. The nut 55 and locknut 56 together form a limiting. means for determining the initial applied compressive force of the spring 53 to establish the correct pressure between the. rolls when the same are in operative contacting relation to carry out the wringing process.

The shaft 52 carrying link 5| and the pivotal support 50 for one end of the entire spring. mechanism passes through the tube 5 and is pivotally supported through suitable means adjacent the end frame plate I and passes beyond the end plate I for the reception of a lock dog 5.!- which is keyed to this projecting end of the shaft 52. The outer end 58 of the dog 51 is held in the position indicatedin Fig. -2 through surface contact with a stop pin 59 rigidly secured to an arm 60, and the latter is pivotally supported on stud 6| carried upon a reset arm 62' which is also pivotally supported. for independent movement uponthe reduced end 63 of the shaft 52 and held in such position by means of a suitable nut 64.

The outer end of. the arm 62 as shown in Fig. 2,

is maintained and held in the angular position.

'13. secured to arm62 and the spring has its other end 14 secured to the base. flange 15 of the end frame plate I. An operating, arm 16 has a verticalleg 11 secured. to the cam 6'1 and has a horizontal leg 16 extending parallel. to and adjacentthe base flange 75 of the end frame plate I. The vertical leg H of the operating handle is pivoted at 19 in the flange 'l5 and. also at in the upper end of the bracket 8| secured to the end frame plate I of the wringer. structure. Suitable anti-friction means. comprising a' bearing plate 82 and. anti-friction balls 83- reduce end thrust to a minimum between the: cam unit and the end frame flange of the wringer whenever the handle.

structure 16= is rotated for. resetting the spring.

mechanism at the opposite end of the wringer through the instrumentality of the link 62 and the roller operating upon the cam surface 68 of the cam 61. Furthermore, as long as roller 65 .and cam 61 are positioned as shown in Fig. 2 with the roller in the recess 'II of the upper cam dwell surface 10,.thespring mechanism of the wringer structure is then in operative working position under the influence of the spring 53 through the link mechanism described for holding the upper wringer roll I2 downwardly in squeezing contact with'the lower wringer roll I3. The cooperation ofroller 65 within the recess dwell II holds-the reset mechanism including the cam and the attached handle structure IS in this particularv position through the tension of. the Spring units comprising the main wringer roll squeezing spring 53-supplemented by the spring 12 thereby holding the horizontal leg 18 of the handle I6 in the predetermined relationship shown in Fig. 2 and as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10. The recess II will also indicate to the operator when the entire spring mechanism of the wringer has again been brought into tensioned relationship to maintain the wringer rolls in operative position. The operator will fill the natural restraint against free rotative motion of the arm I6 when the roller 65 drops into the recess 'II indicating that no further motion is necessary of the arm and rotation of the cam simultaneously therewith when thi position of the parts is reached. I

As now described, the reset arm 62 is positioned as shown in Fig. 2 by the roller 85 and cam 61, but the arm 60 which carries the stop pin 59 for holding the end 58 of the dog 5'! shown in Fig. 2 must be restrained from movement in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. '2. This is accomplished by the use of an :extension 84 shaped to terminate ina latch head 85 which normally abuts the adjacent tapered edge 06 of a latch stop 81. As long as the latch stop 8'! is positioned in the path of the latch head 85 as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, arm" 60 will occupy the position shown in Fig. 2 whereby the stop pin 59 is located directly in the path of the end 58 of the dog 57. In this position the dog 51 holds the shaft 52 in an angular relation to' the wringer structure wherein the link 5I in Fig. 3

holds the spring rod 49 in the position here shown with thespring 53 under compression and in operative relation to cause the squeezing coaction between the'wringer rolls I2- and I3.

Referring now more specifically to Figs. 2, 4. 5 and 6, the latch mechanism is here shown in detailand in operative latched position to hold and maintain all the wringer parts as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The main coacting movable elements of the latch comprise a pair of brackets 88 and 89 carried upon pivot pins 90 and 9|. respectively, which pins are secured and held by the pairs of cars 92 and 93 of the latch mechanism supporting bracket 94 which is fixedly secured to the surface of the end frame plate I. A guide link 95 for the brackets 88 and 89 terminates in angularly disposed ears 96 and 9'! which are carried upon the pivot pins 90 and 9| so that the link 95 will act to guide the operative coacting ends of the-brackets 88 and 89 to effect the proper locking action of the latch head 85 with the latch stop 81, the latter forming an integral portion of the bracket 88. Each of the brackets 88 and .89 are provided with oppositely disposed ears 98 and 99 extending outwardly and having suitably :positionedopenings --I00 and I0'I for 3 and 4. This mechanism comprises a pair of manual release bars I04 and I05 carried in the top ends of the U-frame I06 and I0] respectively. Each of the U-frames I00 and I0'I comprises a pair of vertical legs I08 and I09 connected by the lower cross brace IIO. In addition each of the vertical legs I08I09 are provided with flattened portions IIO,'III, and H2 and H3 respectively.

The individual frames I06I0'I of the release bar mechanisms are supported in floatin relation to the wringer frame and between the end frame plates I and 2 through the bolts described as I02 and I03 and by the coacting aligned bolts II4I I4 in Fig. 13, and through the instrumentality of the expansive force of the springs H5 and H0 encircling the bolts I02 and I03. As seen in Figs. 2 and 4, bolt I02 is encircled by spring H5 and bolt I03 is encircled by spring II6 to provide endwisetension through the aligned bolts I I4I I4 at the opposite side of the wringer to keep each connected manual release frame in predetermined and floatin supported positions at each side of the wringer rolls I2 and I3.

In addition to the bolt mountings of each of the frames I06 and IM of the manual release mechanism, each of the frames includes the previously described flattened portions H0 and H2 shown in Figs. 13 and 14. These flattened portions engage the under surfaces of aligned bifurcated brackets Ill and H8 carried upon the end frame plates I and 2 as best shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The opposite leg portions I08- I09 of each of the frames I06 and I01 are carried within the bifurcated portions of the brackets Ill and H8 forming aligned fulcrumed points positioned at the level of the brackets Ill and I I8 acting to guide the entire frame release units of each of the release mechanisms to maintain the same in thepositions shown in Fig. 3 through the tensioning of the springs I I5 and I I6 and also by reason of the-fact that brackets 88 and 89 are pivoted to normally locate the bores I00 and IOI in the brackets in the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 4 establishing this horizontal line of support which is coincident with the axes of the bolts I02 and I03 and bolts II4I I4.

It is to be noted in Fig. 13 that the bolts II4 each pivot or swing in bores II9 of supporting cups I20 which are secured to the frame end plate 2 and that the bolt I02 is provided with.

suitable nut and locknut I2I and I22 to determine the outermost position of the ear 99 of the adjacent bracket 89 and obviously to limit the expansion of the spring H5. The bolt I03 is also provided with a nut I23 and. locknut I24 to determine the outer limit of the position of the ear 98 of the bracket 88 so that both of the brackets 88 and 89 are normally maintained in the positions indicated in Fig. 4 under normal opcrating conditions. The aligned bolts H4 at the opposite end of the wringer may also be provided with suitable nuts I25 for adjustment purposes. ,and also to aid the functioning of the entire latch release mechanism. As also seen in Figs. 13 and 14, it should be noted that the end frame plates I and'2 are each cut away to provide aligned openings I26 and I260. for clearance for. the bolts I02 and, I-I4. Similar openings are provided for bolts I03 and its corresponding aligned bolt H4. 1

The release of the latch mechanism is effected by a push or pull on either one of the bars I84 .and I95, or through downward movement of either of such bars. It is also true that movement of either of the bars I84 or I85 in any downward angular movement forwardly or rear- Wardly with respect to the wringer rolls-will also cause the latch release mechanism to operate permitting the latch head 85 to move in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2. This .is brought about through the fulcruming action of the release frame assembly attachedto the particular bar which is manually actuated, and through the cocking of one or the other of the bolts I02 or I83. One example of the release of the latch mechanism through movement of one of the bars is indicated in Figs. 7, 8 and 14 under manual actuation of the bar I05 toward the wringer rolls and into the dotted lined position shown in Fig. 14. When this occurs, the bolt I82 is cocked into the position indicated in Fig. 7 causing the bracket 89 to pivot upon its supporting pin 9| whereby an integral extension I21 of the bracket 89 engages the extension I28 on bracket 88 to rock the latter upon its pivot pin 90 causing the latch stop 81 to move away from the wallof the bracket 94 so that the latch head 85 can now move in the direction of the arrow I29 indicated in Fig. 7. All of the latch parts will then assume the positions indicated in Fig. 8 permitting the end 58 of the dog 51 to move in a counterclockwise direction since pin 59 of the arm 68 is no longer then retained in operative retaining position and directly in the path of dog 51.

Positive release by movement of the pin 59 out of the path of the end 58 of dog 51 is accomplished by use of a spring I38 (seeFigs. 2, 8 and 9) which spring is coiled about an extension I311 on stud 6| carried by the arm 52 and which also forms the pivot for the arm 68. This spring I30 has one end I32 projecting through an opening in a lug I33 which forms a portion of the arm 4 68, and the other end I34 of this spring normally engages the cylindrical surface of the cam 81 as shown in Fig. 2 when the parts are in this position. As seen in the latter figure, thespring I30 is normally biased or tensioned to urge arm 60 in a counterclockwise direction to definitely hold the latch head .85 against the outer edge 88 of the latch stop 81. The moment the latch release arm 68 moves in a counterclockwise direction under the action of the spring I30 thereby definitely moving the stop pin 59 out of the path of the end 58 of dog 51, then through the instrumentality of the cross shaft 52 which connectswith the wringer spring mechanism on the opposite side of the wrinker and as shown in Fig. 3, this spring mechanism will be rendered inactive permitting separation of the wringer rolls. 1

The above release action also functions to'interrupt the drive to the wringer roll shaft 28 through the drive shaft 2| as seen in Fig. 1 This interruption of the drive is accomplished through the mechanism best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 which includes a bell crank lever I35 pivotally carried in a bracket I36 supported upon bracket I8. This lever I35 has its upper terminal 70 end I 31 disposed in contact with the projecting end I38 of a clutch operating rod of a clutch. which interrupts the drive, to the shaft 2|. The; other end I39 of the bell crank lever I35 normally is engaged by a cam I48 on the arm I4! whichis 75 .to' drive the wringer rolls.

also keyed to the shaft 52. When the wringer parts are in operative position, arm I4I occupies a position wherein the cam I48 operatively engages the end I39 of the bell crank leve I35 urging the end I 39 thereof toward the wringer frame end plate 2 whereby the upper terminal end I37 of the bell crank lever I35 will normally depress and hold the clutch rod I38 in a position permitting operation of the clutch to drive shaft 2| and However, upon rel ase of the wringer release mechanism the arm I4I will move in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 releasing the end I39 of the bell crank lever I35 thereby interrupting the drive through the clutch mechanism in the wringer post 9 which may be of any normal conventional type of construction or of the type shown in my Patent No. 2,307,367, issued January 5, 1943, or as shown in Morgenstern et al. Patent No. 2,535,748, issued December 26, 1950. V i

All of the latch parts after release are substantially as shown in the Fig. 8 illustration with the latch head sandwiched between the stop 81 and the vertical base portion of the bracket 94 supporting the latch brackets. To again reset the entire wringer mechanism, the arm I6 is manually rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 10 from the dotted line position to the full line position there shown. Through this action, arm 62 is lowered as shown in Fig. 9 by reason of the roller 65 following the operating surface 58 of the cam and through the instrumentality of the spring I2 while the cam is being rotated as indicated by the circular arrow in Fig. 10. The latch parts and more particularly the latch head 85 will then be moved generally into the position indicated in Fig. 9 wherein stop pin 59 will move downwardly from a position around the end 58 of the dog 51 and will slip under end 58 through the action of spring I30 which is now being biased in the opposite direction in view of its contact at I42 with the base flange I5 of the wringer end plate I.

This portion of the reset cycle of the wringer and movement of arm 16 is limited by direct contact of the outer corner I43 of the vertical face I44 ofthe cam 6! with the adjacent side face of the arm 82. Thereafter, the operator grasps the handle I8 and swings the same in a clockwise direction back into the dotted lined position indicated in Fig. 10 whereupon the stop pin 59 will again lift dog 51 to again tension the spring mechanism at the opposite end of the wringer through the torque transmitting shaft 52. Duringthis clockwise movement of arm T6, the operating surface 58 of the cam 61 will again raise roller 65 and the attached mechanism of arm 62 which includes latch arm 60 carrying the cam head 85. Whenthe cam head 85 has moved out of the path of the latch dog 8! connected with bracket 88 the latch stop 81 will now again be repositioned in a manner indicated in Fig. 4 so that the lifting movement of the other mechanisms through the action of the handle I8 will cause the head 85 to move forwardly to again strike edge 86 of the latch stop 81 limiting the outward movement of the pin 59 with respect to the end 58 of dog 51. head 85 is formed concentrically with respect to the pivotal or axial center of shaft 52 so that further swinging of the entire latch arm 60 in a clockwise direction through the cam and roller mechanisms will merely raise the latch head 85 through an arc into the position indicated in Fig. 2 which is the limiting latched position thereof.

Edge I45 of the latch,

This position is also determined by means of the roller 65 entering the recess II on the upper dwell surface of the cam 61.

Obviously, as the latch and reset mechanism are in the positions indicated in Fig. 9, the latch brackets 88 and 89 will both have resumed their original positions as indicated in Fig. 4, so that the latch release frame members will alsohave again resumed their original upright and operative release positions shown in full lines in Fig. 14. In other words, either of the bolts I02 or I03 which has previously been cooked by operation of one of the release bars I04 or I05 will again have straightened out from cocked position indicated at the right hand portion of Fig. 7 which shows the nut I2I also in cocked position causing the bracket 89 to swing or revolve about its pivot 9|. If the release bar I04 had been moved to operate the latch, nut I23 would have cocked the bracket 88 into the position indicated in Fig. 7 causing the same to pivot about its pivot pin 90 and free the latch stop 81' for movement into the position shown without the aid of the bracket 89 which would normally remain in its parallel position with respect to plate I under these conditions.

From the above, it will be seen that this wringer includes pairs of release frames which are each supported in floating relation on either side of the wringer rolls through the spring mechanism described for maintaining the latch brackets 88 and 39 as explained, and the frames are each loosely guided by the bifurcated fixed brackets Ill and H8 so that movement of either of the release bars I04 or I05 in either a pushed or pulled direction, or a downward actuation, or any combinations of these movements will release the latch mechanism to cause the separation of the wringer rolls and to automatically release the drive to each roll establishing an extremely sensitive safety release mechanism to adequately protect the operator under all conditions of operation.

The rocking of the brackets 88 and 89 is caused by the cocking of aligned bolts I02I I4 or I03 I I4 decreasing the distance between the rockably connected ends of the bolts with the bolts H4 being held against inward movement toward the wringer rolls causing either of the brackets 88 or 89 to swing about their pivotal mountings. When bracket 89 is moved as shown in Fig. 7, latch stop 81 is moved out of position by means of the engagement of the extension I21 on bracket 89 with extension I28 on bracket 88. Spring H6 merely compresses under this action. If bar I04 is actuated, the bolt I03 is cocked rotating bracket 88 to move the latch stop 81 out of the path of the-latch head 85. Bracket 89 remains inert under the latter operation.

It should be noted that springs H5 and IIS act to dispose each of the attached release frame units in predetermined floating positions on either side of the wringer rolls. The bolts are also kept in alignment through the same spring action, in addition, each frame is held in upright position through the bifurcated brackets II! and H8 which loosely guide the frame and also provide fulcrum members therefor when the frame is manually actuated to effect release of the latch mechanism and release of the spring mechanism of the wringer rolls.

Also, the cam reset mechanism herein employed for resetting the spring tension of the wringer has been designed for a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator and also to eliminate any freely swinging parts which might cause injury through the release action of the spring mechanism and the connected parts of a wringer functioning in the manner described.

5 It is to be understood that other equivalent structures may be substituted for those specifically described to perform the particular functions of the mechanisms embodied in the wringer of the present invention. All changes and modilo fications together with substitutions shall be governed by the breadth and scope of the claims directed to the preferred embodiment of the wringer. as herein shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A roll release mechanism for a wringer having separable rolls together with operative pressure mechanisms to normally urge said rolls into operative squeezing contact, comprising a, latch means and manual release means therefor, said latch means being connected with said operative pressure mechanism and arranged to release the latter to cause separation of said rolls, and said manual release means comprising a pair of frames disposed on opposite sides of the wringer rolls and each having an exposed part thereof positioned for convenient manual actuation, said frames bein independently mounted in floating relation with the exposed part of each being movable toward Or away from said wringer rolls or in a vertical direction with respect thereto, fulcrum means independently engageable with each of said frames whereby each exposed frame part is also capable of combination of movements either toward or away from said wringer rolls together with movement in a vertical direction,

and cooperative means connecting each of said frames with said latch means to operate the latter upon movement of either frame part in any one of the aforesaid directions.

2. In a separable roll wringer, the combination of a tensioning mechanism to hold said rolls in operative compressive contact, and a roll release mechanism connected with said tensioning mechanism to release the same including a latch comprising a pair of relatively movable coacting brackets with a latch stop on one of the latter, a reset means connected to said tensioning mechanism, a latch head having lost motion connection with said reset means, said latch head being dis- 59 posed in contact with said latch stop, and latch release bars independently positioned on opposite sides of the wringer rolls, cooperative supporting means to suspend said latch release bars p in floating relation with respect to said wringer,

and one of said cooperating supporting means of each release bar having connection with one of said movable brackets whereby motion of either release bar will be imparted to at least one of said brackets to shift said latch stop 60 out of the path of said latch head to release the wringer roll tensioning mechanism, and cam means to operate said reset means after release of said tensioning mechanism to restore the r latter to operative relation, said latch head and said reset means having coacting members to move said head into relatching position upon operation of said cam means during the restoration of said tensioning mechanism to operative relation.

3. In a wringer having latch means to release the wringer roll tensioning mechanism, an actuating means to operate said latch means comprising a frame having a manual release bar, a pair of bolts each connected with said frame for relative movement thereto, one of said bolts be ing swingably connected with the wringer, the other of said bolts being swingably connected with the latch means and positioned thereby, and means to hold said frame in predetermined relation with respect to said bolts and to position said manual release bar, actuation of said release bar causing swinging of said bolts to impart movement to said latch means through the connected bolt releasing said roll tensioning mechanism.

i. In a wringer having latch means to release the Wringer roll tensioning mechanism, an ac! tuating means to operate said latch means comprising a frame having a manual release bar, a pair of bolts each connected with said frame for relative movement thereto, one of said bolts being swingably connected with the wringer, the other of said bolts being swingably connected with the latch means and positioned thereby, means to hold said frame in predetermined relation with respect to said bOlts and. to position said manual release bar, and spring means arranged .to normally prevent said bolts from swinging relative to their respective mountings, actuation of said release bar causing swinging of said bolts to impart movement to said latch means through the connected bolt to release said latter means and said roll tensioning mechanism.

5. In a wringer having latch means to release the wringer roll tensioning mechanism, an actuating means to operate said latch means comprising a frame having a manual release bar, a pair of bolts each connected with said frame for relative movement thereto, one of said bolts being swingably connected with the wringer, the

other of said bolts being swingably connected with the latch means and positioned thereby, said bolts having their swingably connected ends aligned with their connecting points on said frame, guide means to position said frame in predetermined relation with respect to said bolts, and resilient means to maintain said bolts in normal alignment, actuation of said release bar causing cocking of said bolts through shortening the distance between the two points of connection of the bolt ends with the wringer and the latch means respectively thereby operating the latter and releasing the tensioning mechanism.

6. In a wringer having latch means to release the wringer roll tensioning mechanism, an actuating means to operate said latch means comprising a frame having a manual release bar, a pair of bolts each connected with said frame for relative movement thereto, one of said bolts being swingably connected with the wringer, the other of said bolts being swingably connected with the latch means and positioned thereby, said bolts having their swingably connected ends aligned with their connected points on said frame, guide means to position said frame in predetermined relation with respect to said bolts, and resilient means to maintain said bolts in normal alignment, actuation of said release bar causing cooking of said bolts through shortening the distance between the two points of connection of the bolt ends with the wringer and the latch means respectively thereby operating the latter and releasing the tensioning mechanism, said guide means comprising fixed fulcrum units having contacting engagement only with said frame at adjacent points, said units being in parallel relation with the normal aligned bolt positions, whereby movement of said frame reacts against said fulcrum units to cook said bolts to release said tensioning mechanism.

7. In a separable roll wringer, a frame, a movable roll, slidable bearings supporting the same in said frame, said frame including a tubular bar, arms rockably mounted upon said tubular bar and having operative relations with said slidable bearings, an auxiliary arm mounted upon said tubular bar, and connected to one of said rockable arms, tension means acting against said auxiliary arm for applying pressure to said movable wringer roll, a rod supporting said tension means, a shaft extending through said tubular bar, a toggle link fixed upon said shaft and hav ing a pivotal connection with said rod, a latch dog fixed upon said shaft, a reset lever journalled upon said tubular bar, a latch lever pivoted upon said reset lever, a stop pin carried by said latch lever, yielding means for moving said latch lever relative to said reset lever, said stop pinbeing adapted for shifting said dog for rocking said shaft and moving over the front end of said dog, means for latching and releasing said latch lever and means for controlling said reset lever.

8. In a wringer, a driven roll, a movable roll, a frame having a tubular bar, slidable supports in said frame for supporting said movable roll,

rockable arms upon said tubular bar having engagement with said slidable supports, tension means acting upon said rockable arms, a shaft extending through said tubular bar, said tension means having toggle connections with said shaft, drive control member governing the operation of said driven roll, an arm on said shaft, lever means between the last said arm and said drive control member to cause motion of the latter upon a movement of said shaft, a latch dog keyed upon said shaft, a reset lever journalled upon said tubular bar, a latch lever pivoted upon said reset lever, yielding means on said reset lever for controll ng said latch lever, a stop pin upon said latch lever for engaging said latch dog, and means for latching and releasing said latch lever.

9. In a wringer having a movable roll, a frame having a tubular bar, slidable bearing supports in said frame for supporting said movable roll, arms rockably mounted upon said tubular bar and engaging said supports, tension means bearing upon said arms, a shaft journalled in said tubular bar, toggle links connecting said shaft and tension means, a latch dog keyed upon said shaft, a reset lever mounted upon said tubular bar adjacent said dog, a latch lever pivoted upon said reset lever, yielding means on said reset lever for controlling said latch lever, a stop pin on said latch lever for cooperative relation with saiddog for controlling said tension means, rockable latch locking elements for controlling said latch lever and manually operated levers for operating said elements for releasing said latch lever.

10. In a wringer, a frame, a slidable roll in said frame, slidable bearings for said roll, arms engaging said slidable bearings, tension means acting upon said arms, a reset lever pivoted upon said frame, a latch lever pivoted to said reset lever, yielding means upon said reset lever for controlling said latch lever, a latch dog having an operative connection with said tension means, a stop pin upon said latch lever for engaging and controlling said dog, and means for latching and unlatching said latch lever and a rotatable cam having an operative relation with said reset lever.

11. In a wringer, a frame, slidable supports in said frame, a roll carried by said supports, said frame including a hollow bar, arms rockably mounted upon said bar and having a bearing relation upon said slidable supports, tension means acting upon said arms, a shaft in said hollow bar having toggle connections with said tension means, a reset lever mounted upon said bar, a dog keyed to said shaft adjacent said reset lever, a latch lever pivoted to said reset lever and having a stop pin for engaging said dog, yielding means upon said reset lever for controlling said latch lever, means for latching and releasing said latch lever, and a rotatable cam having engagement with said reset lever for operating the same with said latch lever for operating said dog for applying pressure to said tension means.

12. In a wringer having a movable roll and tension means acting upon said roll, mechanism for releasing said tension means comprising a rockable dog having an operative connection with said tension means, a reset lever, yielding means acting upon said reset lever for moving the same to roll release position, a latch lever pivoted upon said reset lever, yielding means upon said reset lever connected to said latch lever for acting upon said latch lever, a stop pin carried by said latch lever for engaging said dog and maintaining the same in tension applying position, latching elements for latching and releasing said latch lever and a rotatable cam for resetting said reset 16 lever and moving said stoppin over the nose portion of said dog.

13. In a wringer having a frame and a latch lever to release the wringer rolls, a pair of cooperating latching elements for latching said latch lever, a hand bar having a pair of parallel legs, and means for supporting said legs with respect to the frame for inward, outward and vertical movement, comprising a laterally extending bolt connected to one of said latching elements and one of said legs, a spring between said latching element and said frame, and fulcrum members extending from said frame intermediate of said legs.

NICHOLAS L. ETTEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,792,879 Weiss Feb. 17, 1931 25 2,054,970 Etten Sept. 22, 1936 2,084,766 Etten June 22, 1937 2,225,499 Kauifman Dec. 17, 1940 

